Event Category: Seminars
Join Professor Cyrus Ali Zargar for a virtual seminar based on his new book, "The Ethics of Karbala", in which he offers an ethical analysis of arguably the most pivotal moment in Islamic history, making use of interdisciplinary methods, especially global philosophy and religious studies, and drawing on philosophical concepts spanning from Nietzsche to Iqbal.
The seminar was delivered by Dr Mohammad Reza Kalantari, Lecturer in International Relations of the Middle East and Director of the Centre for Islamic & West Asian Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London. Dr Kalantari’s research centres on the interplay of regional doctrines, elite ideologies, and political Islam. His latest book, The Clergy and the Modern Middle East: Shiʿi Political Activism in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon (Bloomsbury, 2021), examines the role of Shiʿi clerics in contemporary politics. Through interviews with key figures, the book scrutinizes pivotal events like Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, the 2003 Iraq War, and the 2006 war in Lebanon.
The seminar was led by Aalima Fatemah Meghji, a graduate of the Islamic seminary. Aalima Meghji studied at Jamiat az-Zahra and completed the master’s program in Qur’anic Tafsir and Qur’anic Sciences with honours. She is currently an instructor at the Mizan Institute, leading the Sisters Department. Moreover, she has been teaching in a professional capacity for several years, previously serving as the Islamic Director at the Az-Zahraa Islamic Academy. Her current projects include a book on human evolution in the Shi’ite tradition, and her research interests include the principles of tafsir, Qur’anic hermeneutics, and women in the tradition.